Revisiting the Church’s teaching on cremation

With the Feast of All Souls’ Day upon us again in the Church calendar, it is a prudent time to revisit the Church’s teaching on cremation. This day is a commemoration of all the faithful departed and the right and proper treatment of their remains is a reminder that the Church teaches that the body and soul are integrally linked.

Cremation is often a sensitive topic of discussion for the Catholic faithful. Older Catholics may remember a time when Church burials were forbidden for those willfully cremated. In 1963, the Holy Office (now known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith or CDF) issued the Instruction Piam et Constantem. This instruction permitted cremation for the Catholic faithful if it was not done as an act of “a denial of Christian dogmas, the animosity of a secret society, or hatred of the Catholic religion and the Church.”

This permission was incorporated into the Code of Canon Law in 1983 and the Eastern Code of Canon Law in 1990. The 2016 Instruction Ad Resurgendum cum Christo from the CDF affirmed this permission and gives the faithful guidance on the proper handling of ashes in the case of cremation. These norms are found in the Order of Christian Funerals.

While cremation is permitted for the Catholic faithful, there are important rules that the faithful are obliged to follow to ensure that cremated remains are treated with proper dignity. The Diocese of Bismarck has specific rules contained in the statutes and appendices of the 2016 Diocesan Synod. These rules list the acceptable options for a Catholic burial in descending order of preference by the Church.  

First Preference: Remains kept in bodily form at all funeral rites, including burial.

The Church teaches that burying the dead is one of the seven corporal works of mercy and that the burial of the body intact is the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body. In burying the bodies of the faithful, “the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity.” (Ad Resurgendum cum Christo) Given the special dignity of the human body, it is then appropriate that the burial of a body be in a cemetery or other sacred place, such as a mausoleum or columbarium. This has been the tradition of the Church dating back to time of the first apostles.

Second Preference: Remains kept in bodily form at the main funeral rites (e.g. vigil, funeral Mass, or simple Liturgy of the Word), followed by cremation and then burial of all the cremated remains.

This second preference of the Church is to keep the body of the deceased intact for the funeral itself with the cremation and burial of the cremated remains occurring afterwards. This option allows for friends and family to pay their respects to the deceased and look upon them one last time as they attend the vigil or funeral Mass. Doing so also may help those attending the vigil or Mass to focus their prayers for the deceased that they are able to look upon.

Third Preference: Remains are cremated immediately after death, with the cremated remains present at all funeral rites, followed by burial of all the cremated remains as would a body.

The last preference is permitted, provided that the priest or deacon presiding at the vigil or funeral Mass affirms to the family of the deceased a) that cremation is not inspired by motives contrary to Christian teaching, and b) the cremated remains will be handled with respect and integrally (all of them) buried or entombed in a timely manner as would a body. This second requirement should be especially noted, given rise to the popularity of family’s keeping the ashes of the deceased in their homes.

As already mentioned, it is the ancient tradition of the Church that the faithful be interred in a cemetery or other sacred place. Therefore, cremated remains, as with a body, would properly belong in a cemetery or other sacred place and not in a person’s place of residence. When considering these options, the Catholic faithful should be cognizant that these rules are not enacted to burden but to ensure the dignified treatment of the deceased.